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<title>Packserve Top Stories</title>
<description><![CDATA[IT and Web Design Articles - updated daily.]]></description>
<link><![CDATA[http://www.packserve.co.uk/News/]]></link>

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<title><![CDATA[Britain needs to champion engineers to stay in the race]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Sir James Dyson, whose plans for a school have received another blow, explains why we need to nurture creativity

BRITAIN needs more engineers. It is a widely held belief and yet we remain unable to bridge the gap between intention and action. Britain trades on the triumphs of its industrial forefathers while failing to safeguard its engineering future.

Only by introducing young people to the excitement and creativity of science and technology can we stay in the race. Snobbery and government bureaucracy stand in the way of progress. On the one hand industry is invited to play its part in education and on the other government red tape reins in momentum.

The Beijing Olympics show that Britain can achieve significant progress with concerted collective effort and long-term thinking. Why has our sports performance improved so much? Because the need to invest at grassroots level was recognised in the 1990s and today it is paying off. If we apply the same effort, care and urgency to nurturing new science and technology talent, we may bring British industry back from the brink.

This month Hazel Blears dodged a decision to approve the construction of an engineering school my charitable foundation has been working towards in Bath. Instead the secretary for communities and local government dealt the project a potentially fatal blow by instigating a long, expensive and pointless planning inquiry.

I could stick at it. After all, the inquiry may find in our favour – better late than never and all that. But we have been trying to build a school for nearly 10 years; the Bath scheme alone has taken four.

I could build the school elsewhere, but that would mean an entirely new project, inevitable delays and more charity money spent on consultants and lawyers rather than teachers and students.

Or I could find another way. Engineering is worth fighting for – school or no school.

Back in May, Blears urged cabinet colleagues to experience “real” jobs. They needed to be more “grounded”, she said. Blears has a good point. She should spend a few days in our research laboratories at Malmesbury or with the school’s other industry partners, Airbus, Williams F1, Buro Happold and Rolls-Royce. She would learn how to solve problems. She would learn how to invent. That’s what engineers do.

It will be engineers who develop a credible alternative to the combustion engine. It will be engineers who devise technology to solve our energy problems. And, of course, it’s engineers who have designed a school that won’t flood on the banks of the Avon in Bath. Engineers – and I don’t include myself here because I have no formal engineering qualification – are clever people.

Yes, engineers get things done; they find a way forward.

And if they can’t, they tell you. Engineers have an unwavering (and, I admit, sometimes annoying) grip on reality.

But still the number of engineering graduates falls every year. The CBI employers’ organisation calculates that Britain will need 2.4m workers with science and engineering skills over the next seven years, but even today three-quarters of our engineering firms are struggling to recruit. Britain simply does not have enough graduates to fill the positions. To compete we need more new blood. And fast.

We need to pick our future engineers early. Children are inquisitive about their environment and open-minded. Given the chance, they can come up with ideas that are truly original.

There’s an image problem to be addressed too. Ask children to draw an engineer and you will get pictures of men repairing washing machines or maintaining cars. We need people with those skills, but arguably it is not the most creative end of engineering. We need to challenge the assumption that careers in industry and manufacturing are dull. Using hands and brains to solve problems is an enormous creative challenge. This understanding should begin at school.

The identity crisis goes beyond the classroom and into the workplace as well. Regrettably, half of those graduating in engineering opt for a different profession. As a nation, we simply don’t hold engineers in high-enough regard. We are happy to revel in the past industrial triumphs of George Stephenson and John Logie Baird but a bit embarrassed if our son or daughter works for a firmthat actually makes something.

If we don’t address the problem, the slide will get steeper and we will lose out to China and India. Why have General Electric, Motorola and Microsoft established research and design centres in India? Because India has a plentiful source of talented engineers – it produces 450,000 new engineering graduates a year.

The liberal use of the word “innovation” in myriad government initiatives won’t fix the problem. We need to invest in the teaching of science, design and technology. We need to show that these subjects – and the people who teach them – are truly inspiring and creative. Attitudes need to change.

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<link><![CDATA[http://www.packserve.co.uk/News/2008_08/Britain_needs_to_champion_engineers_to_stay_in_the_race_47.php]]></link>
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<title><![CDATA[Design flexibility for press-fit machines]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Kistler's new generation of electromechanical NC (numerically controlled) joining modules NCFH (such as the Type 2151B…) are compact and precise for a wide variety of force displacement monitored press-fitting and joining tasks.

Despite an overall height of only 475 or 795mm, these modules offer a stroke of 200 or 400mm, which enables them to reach even deep end points, such as bearings in half-shell gearboxes. The high speed of up to 300mm/s offers a quick return stroke and hence short machine cycle, even for a long idle stroke. Being capable of exerting both tension and compression forces provides machine builders with considerable design freedom. The force signal employed by the force-displacement monitoring system can be used to control movement in highly specialised operations. This increases the application versatility of the electromechanical NC joining system. Spring elements, for example, can be loaded to specific values or their settlement controlled continuously. 

Two central lubrication connections for guide and bearing ensure very low-maintenance operation and the threaded spindle drive is permanently lubricated. As the active buckling compensation system eliminates the effect of bending of the customer's assembly, the positional accuracy is no longer influenced by the force. The standard holding brake allows the use of particularly heavy tools and prevents the ram dropping when the module is switched off.

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<link><![CDATA[http://www.packserve.co.uk/News/2008_08/Design_flexibility_for_press-fit_machines_46.php]]></link>
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<title><![CDATA[Pepsi and Starbucks team up to sell tea]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Pepsico and Starbucks, already partners in a deal to sell bottled Frappucinos, are turning their attention to bottled tea. The two companies plan to give the Tazo brand greater exposure and expand distribution. 

Tazo's RTD line will be integrated into the Pepsi/Lipton Tea Partnership (PLP), expanding the joint venture between PepsiCo and Unilever. Starting in mid-October, the bottled teas will be made available nationwide through the PepsiCo bottling system.

"By joining forces with the Pepsi/Lipton Tea Partnership, we're tapping into a long history of innovation and expertise in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of refreshment beverages," said Gerry Lopez, President, Global Consumer Products, Foodservice & Seattle's Best Coffee. "This move puts us in a prime position to take our successful Tazo bottled tea business to an even higher level."

Starbucks' relationship with PepsiCo dates back to 1994, when the two companies formed the North American Coffee Partnership (NACP) – a joint venture that helped build the RTD coffee category in the US through the development and distribution of Starbucks bottled Frappuccino, Doubleshot espresso, Doubleshot Energy + Coffee and other beverages.

"Unilever and Starbucks have been great partners of PepsiCo for over a decade, so culturally it's a great fit," said Mary Barnard, GM/VP, Pepsi/Lipton Tea Partnership. "By engaging the passionate base of Tazo consumers already established by Starbucks, leveraging the strength of the Pepsi bottling system and employing the beverage expertise of the Pepsi/Lipton Tea Partnership, we'll be able to share Tazo RTD products with a larger audience than ever before."

"As the leading marketer of tea beverages in the world, we're always looking for opportunities to bring our global expertise to more tea lovers," said James Wong, Vice President, Business Development, Unilever Americas. "We're really excited about this opportunity to expand the Pepsi/Lipton Tea Partnership and enter into this agreement with Starbucks, whose brands and mission we genuinely admire."

Tazo has created more than 100 unique tea, fruit and herbal beverages in bottled, filterbag, full leaf and tea latte concentrate varieties. All Tazo tea blending is done on-site at Tazo headquarters in Portland, Oregon, to ensure quality and flavour consistency. Samples from the world's finest tea gardens arrive daily, and after thorough testing, only 10% of the teas tasted find their way into Tazo blends. Acquired by Starbucks in 1999, Tazo is the exclusive tea offered at Starbucks coffeehouses worldwide, and Seattle's Best Coffee cafes in the US.

Kraft Foods, which previously distributed the Tazo RTD product line as part of its 10-year relationship with Starbucks, will continue to distribute Tazo filterbag teas and tea latte concentrates, as well as Starbucks and Seattle's Best Coffee packaged coffees in non-cafe channels. 
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<link><![CDATA[http://www.packserve.co.uk/News/2008_08/Pepsi_and_Starbucks_team_up_to_sell_tea_45.php]]></link>
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<title><![CDATA[Engineering firm tackles tricky installation]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Gauteng engineering firm the Thuthuka group has assisted Rand Water with the installation of a large diameter pipe reticulation system to resolve water stagnation at one of the largest man-made reservoirs in the Southern hemisphere.

TGL project director John Coetzee says that the main challenge of the installation was the fact that the company had to feed all of its equipment, materials and labour through a 2,5 m by 2,5 m access aperture, 17 m above the working level.

The project entailed inserting a diffuser pipe into the 550 000 m Klipriviersberg reservoir situated in Meyersdal, south of Johannesburg.

This distribution pipe would ensure that feed water was evenly distributed into the reservoir, preventing stagnation. The 400-m glass reinforced plastic pipe, which was supported on concrete plinths, has an initial diameter of 2 m, tapering down to a final diameter of 800 mm.

The reservoir, being a confined space with very limited air ventilation, no petrol or diesel-driven equipment could be used. That meant all the labour had to be done by hand. At any given time, there was a minimum of 30 people inside the reservoir.

It is the first time that such a project has been carried out for Rand Water. TGL project manager Andrew Kuhn says the project was made more difficult because it was nearly impossible to judge the degree of difficulty ahead of time, as the reservoir was filled with water and could not be inspected in advance. Also, the reservoir is built on top of a hill, with restricted access.

The project took three months to complete and has just been commissioned.

TGL is a multidisciplinary engineering company, active in the process, industrial water, hazardous waste and air pollution control sectors of the market. All aspects of projects in these fields are covered, from engineering, procurement, project and construction management to project finance. The company's main industrial clients are the mining, metal processing, chemicals, paper and pulp and petro-chemicals industries.

From its African base, TGL provides professional services to the sub-Saharan industry in the execution of multi-disciplinary, turnkey projects. TGL has representation in Nigeria, Ghana, Namibia and Botswana.

In addition to the normal project engineering services, TGL offers a project financing solution. This service allows the client to focus on core services while TGL operates the plant on a contractual build, own, operate and maintain basis
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<link><![CDATA[http://www.packserve.co.uk/News/2008_08/Engineering_firm_tackles_tricky_installation_44.php]]></link>
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<title><![CDATA[ROCOL QUALITY REWARDED]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[ROCOL Lubricants’ approach to quality, price, delivery, service and innovation has been given a resounding endorsement at an industry awards ceremony.

Now in their second year, the awards are run by pan-European technical distributor, Brammer. Their aim is to recognise innovative solutions from within the network of Brammer customers and suppliers, and to showcase the cost saving and production efficiency benefits that can be made by combining Brammer’s expertise and knowledge with that of its supply partners. 

At an awards dinner at the Heritage Motor Museum last month hosted by former BBC and ITN political news editor, John Sergeant, ROCOL received an award for supplier relationship management. 

Judges praised the lubricants manufacturer’s ability to deliver consistent business management excellence and work in harmony to improve performance across the five core elements of Brammer's supplier management system: quality, cost, delivery, service and innovation. 

The judging panel also recognised ROCOL’s achievement of the highest supplier rating Brammer has seen for the past five straight months. 

Says Steve Chapman, managing director of ROCOL Lubricants, “We pride ourselves on delivering high quality, innovative products that meet the needs of the marketplace. To have that commitment and our achievements in this area recognised by our peers in the industry is fantastic.”

 

Two awards were given on the night for production efficiency, two for product innovation, one for supplier relationship management and one for cost saving. The awards attracted over 200 guests and raised £37,000 through donations and an auction for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

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<link><![CDATA[http://www.packserve.co.uk/News/2008_08/ROCOL_QUALITY_REWARDED_43.php]]></link>
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<title><![CDATA[McDonald\'s adds 4,000 new UK jobs]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Fast-food chain McDonald\'s has launched a recruitment drive to add 4,000 jobs in its UK restaurants to meet increasing demand for its meals. 

While some service sector firms are cutting jobs, McDonald\'s said it needed to increase its workforce to cater for two million more customers a month. 

The pick-up is attributed to modernised branches and menu changes. 

Last year, the firm launched a campaign for a more positive dictionary definition of the term \"McJob\" . 

The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as: \"An unstimulating, low-paid job with few prospects, esp. one created by the expansion of the service sector.\" 

A public petition to have it changed was supported by 100,000 signatures, 35 MPs and high-profile business leaders. 

Reclaiming the McJob 

The advertising campaign will see McDonalds for the first time celebrate the McJob, highlighting the benefits of working at the fast food group. 

\"This campaign is an important milestone in the evolution of McDonald\'s recruitment advertising - signalling a more confident and assertive attitude towards the \'McJob\' term,\" said David Fairhurst, senior vice president at McDonald\'s UK & Northern Europe. 

The company has refurbished half of its 1,200 branches and said it is on track to complete a £40m investment across 200 \"Drive Thru\" restaurants by the end of 2008. 

It will also open up to 10 new restaurants in the UK this year. 

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<link><![CDATA[http://www.packserve.co.uk/News/2008_08/McDonalds_adds_4,000_new_UK_jobs_42.php]]></link>
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